9 of 15  
   5. Secondary manufacture
In secondary manufacture, companies must follow a strict code of good manufacturing practice. The active ingredient is turned into a medicine by mixing it with other substances. These are called excipients and they make up most of the volume of a medicine. Although they have no active role in curing a patient, they allow the active ingredient to be made into a medicine, such as a tablet.

There are a number of different ways of formulating a medicine (see page 1). However, in the next section you will see how tablets are made.

Flow diagram
Case study: manufacturing tablets
The six basic stages in manufacture are:

Inputs
  1 delivery of ingredients to the factory
  2 checking that the ingredients meet the required specification

Processes
  3 mixing and granulation
  4 drying
  5 pressing
  6 coating.

Let's have a look at these in more detail.
Photo of receiving goods
Picture 5.1 Receiving goods.
1. Receiving the ingredients.
The company's suppliers deliver the ingredients to the factory. The ingredients are usually powders, although they can be crystals or very small, spherical granules.
2. Checking ingredients.
The ingredients for the tablets are checked very carefully:
  • active ingredients are identified chemically
  • some ingredients are weighed
  • the ingredients are analysed to check they match the specification
  • the solid ingredients are passed through a sieve to check nothing unwanted has got in.
Question 8

There are two main constituents in a of a medicine. The first is the ingredient which is the part that treats the condition. The second is the . This helps to bind the medicine together and makes it easier to take.

After the ingredients have been delivered to the factory, they are to ensure they meet the specification. For example, solid ingredients are passed through a to ensure nothing unwanted has got in.